BlazBlue Dev Doing Contra Spiritual Sequel

Arc System Works will be putting the high-definition sprites it's known for into an officially sanctioned Contra spiritual sequel.

Contra has had plenty of sequels over the years, but Konami has enlisted Arc System Works to develop a spiritual one called Hard Corps: Uprising. The developer known for BlazBlue and Guilty Gear will be bringing its signature 2D anime style to the game which is planned for release on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network.

Revealed by a preview over at IGN, Hard Corps: Uprising is described by Konami as an "homage to legacy Konami run-and-gun platformers." From the first screen we see a two characters holding big-ass guns, and a giant explosion. Yeah, that's Contra.

Hard Corps: Uprising offers two playable characters, one known to be a baddie from the Genesis's Contra: Hard Corps named Colonel Bahamut. The other appears to be an unknown female, and, mindblowingly, more characters could be released as DLC.

The game will include at least eight stages with players collecting power-ups and blasting everything that moves; gameplay that will be very familiar to Contra fans. And if you miss that wall boss from the NES Contra, it looks like it's making a return in Hard Corps.

Please expect Contra's trademark difficulty to return, but Konami and Arc are going to include a mode for those that don't have the money to replace their controllers twice a week. Rising mode will give players three hits before death, in contrast to Contra's usual one-and-done system.